If your stomach feels heavier than usual or your clothes suddenly feel snug, it’s easy to wonder whether you’re dealing with bloating or actual fat gain. While they can look and feel similar, the causes and patterns behind them are completely different. Bloating usually comes on quickly and tends to fade within a day or two. It often feels tight or swollen, especially in the lower belly. Body fat, on the other hand, builds slowly over time. It feels soft, spreads more evenly, and doesn’t shift throughout the day the way bloating can. There are plenty of reasons why you might feel bloated—everything from how your body digests food to conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, fluid retention, or shifts in hormones during your menstrual cycle. Fat gain, meanwhile, often ties back to things like what you’re eating, how often you move, and other daily habits that affect your weight over time. The signs might overlap, but they don’t behave the same. Paying attention to when it shows up, where you feel it, and how it feels can help you tell the difference between bloating and fat gain. Keep going—we’ll walk you through 8 key ways to help you figure out what’s really going on.